University of Phayao, Chiang Rai Campus.

University of Phayao, Chiang Rai Campus at a glance

Chiang Rai's third public higher-education site belongs to a university seated in another province. The University of Phayao runs a full branch campus at the Chiang Rai provincial government centre at Ban Fang Min, Tambon Rim Kok, Mueang Chiang Rai District — the same riverside district many long-stayers choose to live in. It is easy to miss precisely because its name says Phayao.

Its own history page dates the site: Chiang Rai province released roughly 25 rai of land, an academic service building and a 24-room accommodation block were built, and the site opened on 29 December 2008 as the Chiang Rai Academic Service Centre of Naresuan University Phayao. The University of Phayao Act B.E. 2553 was gazetted on 16 July 2010, and on 19 September 2010 the university council elevated the centre to full campus status. The campus today occupies about 16 rai and reports 11 staff and a 4,423-volume library.

The practical point for anyone relocating: this campus teaches at master's and doctoral level only, and it teaches only on Saturdays and Sundays. There is no undergraduate intake here. For a working adult or an accompanying spouse already living in Chiang Rai, it is the only weekend postgraduate option in the province that belongs to a public university.

Notable facts

• Opened 29 December 2008 as an academic service centre of Naresuan University Phayao; elevated to Chiang Rai Campus by the University of Phayao council on 19 September 2010, after the University of Phayao Act B.E. 2553 was gazetted on 16 July 2010.
• Teaches on Saturdays and Sundays only, at master's and doctoral level only — no bachelor's programmes are taught at this site.
• The campus lists one doctoral programme (Tourism and Hotel Management) and seven master's programmes: Educational Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, Tourism and Hotel Management, Applied Geoinformatics, Business Administration, Digital Technology and Data, and Computer Engineering. Its own course table, however, lists only four of the seven and omits the doctorate — confirm the current intake with the campus before committing.
• Sits inside the provincial government centre at Ban Fang Min, Tambon Rim Kok, on roughly 16 rai; the site also runs guest rooms (UP Rim Kok) and rents meeting space.